A Mortal Dragon at the Auction!

... "With ten-year Polygonum multiflorum as the principal ingredient, matched with Brain Insect Grass and Silver Chrysanthemum, plus twenty-one supplementary ingredients, one can refine the Blood-Strengthening Pill..." ... "The fire heat is insufficient; next time requires fierce fire for smelting, then guiding the Qi of fire with True Essence to form the Fire Rosy Pill Pattern, and the pill can be formed..." ... "The proficiency still awaits improvement; the medicinal efficacy scattered midway, and the number of formed pills is insufficient, leaving only two or three, still requiring much more practice..." ... In the Alchemy Chamber. Qin Lu had been refining pills for three full months, and had already thoroughly mastered the Blood-Strengthening Pill, yielding three to four pills per furnace, with subsequent output awaiting elevation. Looking further down-- He saw that on the pill rack, ten bottles of Blood-Strengthening Pills were placed, each bottle containing three formed pills; ten bottles were worth three thousand taels of white silver... Additionally, there were six bottles of Muxuan Pills, likewise three to a bottle. Rounding it off, considering it one spirit stone a bottle, it was not too excessive, right. If it were truly according to Gongsun Zhe's words, then would people still be allowed to make money? As the saying goes, no merchant is without craft, and I, his mother, had never seen an uncraught merchant! Qin Lu intended to take advantage of this opportunity to get back a few spirit stones for cultivation. Thinking that the several major lineages in the county, since they could endure to this day, must certainly have stock in their lineage treasuries, trading for a few spirit stones should present no problem... "The time is about right..." Thinking of this, the corners of Qin Lu's mouth lifted. As long as this navigation route was cleared this time, from then on he could continuously demand from the outside and rapidly strengthen his lineage. After a few years, when all dust settled. He could peaceably enter seclusion and attempt to break through the Qi Condensation Realm... ... ... A few days later-- Above the Ba River, within a semi-circular port artificially excavated, hundreds of people bustled about busily, continuously hauling cargo. When everything was ready. Five sand ships, seven zhang long and three zhang wide, slowly left the port, like giant beasts entering the sea, preparing to tour in all directions. On both sides of the hulls... Five oars even extended outward, resembling the fins and wings of a giant beast roaming. When the giant sails unfurled-- They faced the north wind heading south, and the traveling speed also increased sharply as a result! Yet the speed was ultimately a bit slow, being after all mainly reliant on manpower, with wind power as supplementary. There was no help for it-- Mortal watercraft could only be thus. Qin Lu had also considered this problem, but he understood neither physics nor chemistry and could not churn out a steamship, whereas the spirit boats of the cultivation world. Let alone the True Martial Realm, even the Qi Condensation Realm might not necessarily be able to acquire one... The only feasible option was perhaps to domesticate some aquatic Demon Beasts, using the bodies of Demon Beasts to tow the ships, but how difficult was it to domesticate them. What is more, where was one to seek them out? Make shift with it for the time being... Compared to land transport, this slight problem appeared insignificant. Water transport not only saved time and effort, but its cargo capacity also far exceeded land transport, and all costs combined might be just one-seventh or one-eighth of land transport. This was the convenience of relying on water. Nor did he understand certain novel plots where people clearly relied on water yet stubbornly insisted on land transport, and then encountered plots of being waylaid, counter-killed, and having treasures seized... Perhaps this made it easier to write the plot, likely. ... ... The fleet headed south all the way, cleaving the waves and marching onward. On the pitch-black sails was written a flying and vigorous, brilliantly golden character: "Qin"! Mighty and domineering, majestic and propping up the heavens! Looking from afar, it was like a group of giant beasts roaming together, and a towering sensation abruptly filled one's eyes; all who shared the vessel avoided it, not daring to contend with its edge. County Prefecture Wharf-- The laborers laid down their work at hand, cast their gaze over, and saw the grandiose fleet approaching. They saw that upon the bow, a black-robed man possessed an imposing and spirited bearing. A gale blew by, and wisps of black hair rose with the wind, extremely domineering and aggressive! The heroic and martial Qi was like the majesty of towering mountains yet heavy. Someone could not help but sigh inwardly in his heart: "Whose fleet is this again, how very imposing!" Yet another person spoke: "Great men born into this world should be just like this!" "Liu Ji, what did you say?" "I said, being a man should be just like this!" The man possessed a mediocre appearance. Having replied with a single sentence, he turned and resumed hauling cargo, and when he left, he did not forget to remind his companion with a sentence: "Foreman Xiao, let's go, there's still a boat of cargo unloaded yet..." "Oh... coming, coming!" ... When the Qin family fleet berthed and docked. Squads of Black-Armored Soldiers took the lead in disembarking under Wang Jian's leadership, and subsequently cleared away the idle bystanders all around... Looking at their military momentum, as well as that murderous and ferocious appearance. One knew this was an army of tigers and wolves indeed! This caused not a few people who were peeking in secret to feel a strand of pressure, as if this Qin family was not as feeble as rumored... Not far away-- County Magistrate Zhang nodded slightly, carrying a trace of approval. Immediately he actually came out to welcome them in person, all smiles, having waited respectfully ahead of time at the foot of the vessel's ladder. Seeing this, Qin Lu smiled unrestrainedly and disembarked without haste or slow. The hanging plaque at his waist was eye-catching and exceptionally conspicuous; the simple three characters "Hundred Arts Office" caused the various lineage consuls waiting right here to quiet their drums and drop their flags. Previously, they might still have harbored a stroke of luck. But right now, this was hard reality! "We wait here to respectfully welcome Alchemist Qin!" The crowd bowed in unison. Although in terms of strength everyone was evenly matched, in status and position Qin Lu was comparable to a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator. As long as cultivators did not step forth, Qin Lu could basically disregard anyone's expression. In the true sense of the phrase: beneath Qi Condensation I am invincible, above Qi Condensation I make a clean getaway; if anyone transgressed, there were plenty of people wanting to clean things up on Qin Lu's behalf. So as to sell Qin Lu a favor by this means. One did not know how many people and how many lineages sought Dao without a door in order to obtain some pills. "County Magistrate Zhang is too polite. Your lineage is an immortal lineage of one region; to trouble you thus, I hope you will not break Qin's fortune." Having lived through two lifetimes, Qin Lu could also be considered a seasoned crafty old hand. He had long since scouted out news of the various lineages, knowing that this Zhang lineage had transformed into a dragon overnight, producing a Qi Condensation Realm cultivator. Since the other party gave him such face, he naturally had to reciprocate a bit. "Hahahaha~" "Sigh, where are such words! Alchemist Qin is young and of outstanding talent; you and I, two lineages, naturally ought to grow closer and closer!" "Come, I ask Your Excellency to shift your steps." "The several lineages in the county have prepared wine and food to dust off the dust and welcome Alchemist Qin!" Amidst speech-- The two of them rode in sedans together and departed, while the remaining matters naturally had their underlings arrange properly... ... After this-- It was nothing more than savoring mountain delicacies and sea flavors, enjoying ancient-method foot massage... Who said a foot massage was not the Dao, and manipulative techniques were not the Dharma? Enjoying ancient-method foot massage, savoring myriad manipulative techniques... When the clearing-the-treasury one-stop service concluded, Qin Lu only felt his whole body comfortable and refreshed, as though glowing with spirit, yet somewhat yellowed... However, after a complete set of procedures-- The tone in which everyone spoke grew a few parts closer; nothing could pull closer the distance between both sides more than committing bad deeds together. When everyone. Came to know Qin Lu's goal for this trip. It could be clearly seen that the expressions of the Wang and Chen lineages were much more relaxed, while County Magistrate Zhang was even overjoyed to the extreme, beyond what words could express... As for the Li lineage... They had already defaulted to being treated as a sacrifice in exchange for the sentiment of Qin Lu, this Alchemist. As for the position of County Assistant. It was merely a minor unranked official; one only needed the commandery prefecture to maneuver it somewhat, and would it not be snatched up without fail? Yan Quan had served as a township official for so many years, and ought to be promoted upwards. To the various lineages, this was a favorable push along a convenient current, with labor doing the work of a boat. To Qin Lu, it was establishing a benchmark. Letting his underlings know that following him, Qin Lu, there would always be a day when they rose to prominence... Later, through discussions among the various lineages... Seven days hence--an auction would be held!